From Sharks to Sugar: Addressing Conservation Issues of ... - incca

a stable environment, and establishing good housekeeping policies for
control of pests” (Wharton, 1995). The collections manager, not the
conservator, often performs the latter of these preventative conservation
measures. So it seems logical that a collection manager could also
document the artist’s intent.
The authors conclude that for chocolate art, preventative
conservation methods are most appropriate (Wharton, 1995). As
chocolate is a befitting example of nontraditional ephemeral media used in
contemporary art, this supports my assertion that collections managers
should be and are involved in the conservation process of this work
because collections managers practice preventative conservation in
collections caretaking.
Artists’ Role in Conservation
Jennifer Crane discusses new media art using digital technology,
specifically the Internet, in her 2007 thesis project, “New Media Art
Matters: Artist Perspectives on Preservation in Museums.” She argues that
both artists and museums manage preservation issues with this
nontraditional contemporary art. Often, when repairs are needed for these
types of pieces, the artist is the only person who understands how to repair
the work. I suspect that this may also be true of many other non-digital
contemporary artworks, because the artist may be the sole person who
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